ONCE A THIEF (1991)

Hot on the heels of Arrow Video’s definitive release of John Woo’s harrowing Bullet in the Head (1990) comes this excellent Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray of Once a Thief. Although made back-to-back, these two movies couldn’t be more different, yet both are essential Woo. Once a Thief is best summed up as a genre patchwork: part crime caper, heist thriller, action comedy, and love triangle.

Bullet in the Head was the most expensive Hong Kong movie ever made, but shocked audiences weren’t ready for its uncompromising intensity. It bombed at the box office, clawing back just $1M against a $4M budget. Woo’s career hung in the balance, but those around him still believed he could turn things around.

Legend has it that Chow Yun-fat and Leslie Cheung—both at the peak of their stardom and guaranteed box office draws—suggested developing a project together that would be as fun to make as it was to watch. With superstar Cherie Chung also joining the cast, Woo wooed investors with the promise of a blockbuster for the lucrative Chinese New Year season. The catch? It was already November, and Chinese New Year fell in early February. The urgency of this seemingly impossible schedule shows on screen: the film is a frenetic ride that rarely settles down and doesn’t always make sense, but it’s undeniably entertaining and never boring. Opening on 2 February, it dominated the box office for the Lunar New Year holidays and effectively rescued Woo’s career.

The script was never truly locked down until production wrapped. Clifton Ko penned the initial draft based on Woo’s outline, which assistant director Janet Chun continually rewrote on the fly alongside plenty of cast improvisation. The central narrative follows a trio of elite Hong Kong thieves pulling off a daring art heist in Paris. Such prominent European locations were a novelty for Hong Kong cinema at the time, but Woo wanted to realise his dream of paying homage to the dreamy French nouvelle vague of François Truffaut and the neo-noir films of Jean-Pierre Melville that had captivated him in his youth. He knew this might be his last chance.

Accordingly, the film opens by establishing its setting with iconic Parisian vistas: Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Dôme des Invalides, Napoleon’s tomb, and, of course, the Eiffel Tower. ‘Rice Pudding’ (Chow Yun-fat) saunters through a museum’s grand halls, looking suitably suave in his trademark linen suit, when he overhears a guide discussing the recent theft of The Harem Maid—a real painting by Paul-Désiré Trouillebert. Meanwhile, ‘Red Bean’ (Cherie Chung) feigns a broken heel and perches on one of several delivery crates out back. As security urges her to move, she surreptitiously marks the crate with perfume—though her little dog promptly relieves itself on the very same spot. Yes, there’s plenty of broad (and sometimes dated) Hong Kong humour throughout. We also meet Jim (Leslie Cheung) as he poses on a bridge over the Seine for a street artist, signing the sketch with a promise that the artist will be famous tomorrow.

The trio converges during a high-stakes robbery of the delivery truck. Featuring a motorcycle stunt, a joke about Red Bean’s pungent perfume, and a paragliding escape, it’s just the first of several adrenaline-fuelled set pieces.

A warm-toned flashback reveals that these fearless art thieves have been inseparable since their childhood as orphans in the Hong Kong slums. They were taken in and trained as pickpockets by Mr Chow, a harsh, Fagin-like figure. However, when Officer Chu catches them stealing, he takes them for a proper meal instead of remanding them, becoming their true benefactor. He encourages them to go straight and perhaps join the police one day. These two men—with confusingly similar names—become conflicting father figures, echoing William Blake’s Good and Evil Angels Struggling for Possession of a Child. Naturally, a poignant and potentially tragic showdown between the two looms before the credits roll. It’s quintessential Woo.

The action then shifts to the glamour of the French Riviera. When delivering a stolen Modigliani, their client (Pierre-Yves Burton) hires them to steal an even more valuable—and supposedly cursed—painting. This turns out to be The Harem Maid, currently held in a crime lord’s fortified château near Cannes.

Wanting to quit while they’re ahead, Red Bean acts as interpreter and intentionally mistranslates the lavish offer to make it sound unappealing, giving the impression that Jim and Rice Pudding aren’t interested. But Jim gets the gist and, unwilling to risk his partners, sets out alone that evening. In a sequence reminiscent of the classic Euro-crime spoof Danger: Diabolik (1968), he scales the sheer château walls, deftly bypassing armed guards and security. Only inside does he bump into Rice Pudding, who had second-guessed his friend’s plan.

Together, they navigate the gothic fortress’s secret vaults via the wine cellar, using a medieval chandelier as a makeshift trapeze over an electrified floor. Their escape is further hampered by a laser grid, which they bypass using the scientifically dubious trick of filtering the beams through glasses of red wine. However, the fun ends abruptly when the escape goes awry and one of them is wounded. The delay allows the crime lord’s henchmen to track them down, triggering a spectacular stunt sequence. Supervised by Rémy Julienne—a stunt legend known for his work on James Bond films since For Your Eyes Only (1981)—the high-octane chase across cars, motorcycles, a caravan, and a boat culminates in a fiery explosion and tragedy. But at only halfway through… surely Rice Pudding can’t be dead?

Once a Thief revels in its East-meets-West culture clash, unashamed to blend stylish Euro-chic with unrefined Hong Kong comedy, and light romance with high-impact stunts. While it thrilled local cinemagoers, it remains a jarring concoction for international audiences who only know Woo for his hyper-stylish bullet ballets. It isn’t his masterpiece, but it stands as one of the most successful films of his Hong Kong era, despite an uneven narrative anchored to a flimsy plot.

What saves the film are its breathtaking set pieces, uninhibited sense of fun, and the genuine warmth of its three leads. Their chemistry is magnetic as their childhood bond evolves into romantic complexity. Red Bean is torn between two men who deeply care for her, while Rice Pudding hides his feelings behind bravado and childish humor. Jim sees right through it, realising his friend is trying not to stand in his way. Both men believe the other is the better match, creating ample opportunity for the heartfelt poignancy Woo is known for. Yet he never fully commits to this emotional core, wary of slowing the pace as the narrative hurtles towards a wild, audacious finale where logic goes out of the window—along with dozens of stuntmen, several of them on fire.

Though a runaway hit in Hong Kong, Once a Thief didn’t translate as well overseas. Seeking to tap into international markets, Woo directed a 1996 Canadian television remake as a pilot for a 22-part series (1997–98), which quickly lost steam after strong initial ratings. Having not seen the remake, I can only assume that without the electric charisma of the original trio, once was probably enough.

HONG KONG | 1991 | 108 MINUTES | 1.85:1 | COLOUR | CANTONESE • ENGLISH • FRENCH • HAKKA

Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Special Features:

• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original lossless Cantonese and English mono audio, plus alternate mono mixes for both languages
• Optional English subtitles for the Cantonese soundtrack and English for the deaf and hard of hearing subtitles for the English soundtrack
• NEW audio commentary with Asian cinema expert James Mudge. Begins by explaining the complex licensing issues that previously prevented proper home video releases of a film he considers particularly noteworthy. He highlights how it reveals a different side to John Woo, drawing heavily on influences from his earlier career as a comedy director. Mudge places the film within Woo’s mid-career trajectory, marking a transitional phase as his first collaboration with producer Terence Chang following a rift with Tsui Hark. Alongside critical analysis, he provides concise biographical sketches of the cast and rich production background, arguing that Woo deliberately reined in certain signature elements to maximize mainstream appeal. He underscores stylistic parallels with François Truffaut’s Jules et Jim (1962) and Stanley Donen’s Charade (1963), while noting how the film’s climax diverges from Woo’s typical action conventions to align more closely with his comedic roots.
• Handling a Heist, a NEW 24-minute interview with director John Woo. Woo candidly admits to feeling deeply depressed following the box-office failure of Bullet in the Head, which he still regards as his most personal work. He recounts promising to recoup those financial losses with a commercial comedy, before detailing the creative evolution of Once a Thief. Most intrigueingly, he reveals that he rarely ‘directs’ actors on set in the conventional sense; instead, he hands them written suggestions on a single sheet of paper, hoping to be surprised by unscripted choices. Emphasising the spirited collaboration among cast and crew, Woo explains that the wacky epilogue was entirely the brainchild of his trusted editor, David Wu. Though Woo admits he wasn’t entirely keen on the ending himself, he was delighted that audiences embraced it as a light-hearted closing note.
• Heists and Lows, a NEW 11-minute interview with producer Terence Chang. Chang recalls first working with John Woo on an aborted project titled Long Time No See, before continuing their partnership on Once a Thief and eventually co-founding their production company, Milestone Pictures. Woo’s initial treatment was rejected by financiers, who demanded more comedy without sacrificing action—a compromise that accounts for the film’s uneven tone, but also its broad commercial appeal. Chang reflects on the smooth shooting experience in France and the professionalism of the local crew. Notably, he reveals that the shift to the French Riviera occurred because no museum in Paris would consent to a story involving art theft; it was ultimately the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice that granted filming access. He closes with warm praise for the three lead actors and the tirelessly inventive stunt team.
• Thoughts About Thievery, a NEW 21-minute interview with co-writer Clifton Ko. Ko recounts jumping at the chance to write John Woo’s Chinese New Year release, outlining how the writing process unfolded. Recognising that Woo possessed a powerful creative vision, Ko approached the script as a framework to offer alternatives and spark ideas, fully aware that assistant director Janet Chun would refine the script on set. He worked in tandem with the storyboarding process as Woo meticulously planned the stunt sequences.
• Stealing Some Shots, a NEW 27-minute interview with director of photography Poon Hang-Sang. Opens with an overview of John Woo’s early career, tracing his roots back to serving as assistant director to Chang Cheh, from whom he learned the art of action choreography. Poon reminisces about accompanying Woo on location scouts across France—and how good the food was. The extensive planning and formal permits required to shoot in France stood in stark contrast to Hong Kong’s guerrilla-style filmmaking. He praises Rémy Julienne’s painstaking preparation for the car chases—using toy cars to demonstrate complex manoeuvres—and recalls the deep camaraderie and mutual support shared among the three leads and the wider crew.
• Art of the Steal, a NEW 10-minute interview with editor David Wu . Recounts the grueling, high-speed nature of the production, which demanded countless sleepless nights to meet the strict Chinese New Year release date. Beyond his editing duties, Wu served as second-unit director, coordinated the score, and even made a cameo appearance as the art auctioneer. Though happily exhausted once the film was in the can, he reveals that work continued into post-production, with additional dialogue being improvised during dubbing.
• Hong Kong Confidential, a NEW 8-minute appreciation by author and film historian Grady Hendrix. While covering production background and trivia familiar to direct participants, Hendrix provides broader cultural context. He highlights Cherie Chung’s retirement from acting shortly after the film’s release, and underscores Chow Yun-fat’s monumental star power at the time, when he starred in four of Hong Kong’s top ten grossing films.
• Once a Star, Always an Icon, a NEW 17-minute appreciation of star Leslie Cheung by Hong Kong cinema expert Frank Djeng . Tracks Cheung’s rise from winning a singing contest to his breakout year in 1984—when his hit single “Monica” launched his music career in tandem with his rising screen profile. Djeng highlights key performances, such as his lead role in Ronny Yu’s The Bride with White Hair (1993), while addressing the controversies surrounding his career and his courage in coming out as gay. It stands as a respectful, moving tribute to a multi-talented artist who died tragically young.
• Up Close and Personal, an archival interview with John Woo
• Brothers in Arms, an archival interview with Terence Chang
• Archival interview with actor Kenneth Tsang.
• Original theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Hadley
• Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Priscilla Page. Not available at time of review.

Cast & Crew

director: John Woo.
writers: John Woo, Clifton Ko Chi-Sum & Janet Chun.
starring: Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung, Cherie Chung, Kenneth Tsang & Paul Chu.